In this, the first of eight books in the series (so far), we are introduced to Penny Brannigan and her new friend, Victoria Hopkirk. Penny and her friend live in a small town in North Wales, Llanelen. Penny is a 50 something Canadian who stopped in Llanelen while backpacking across Wales when in her 20s. She found the town so welcoming and picturesque, that she stopped there for the night and never left. Penny is a manicurist and a part time artist (thus the beautiful Welsh town and countryside are especially attractive to her.) Victoria is a harpist who recently relocated from London after a divorce. Both of the (amateur) sleuths are in their early 50s.
The mystery opens with the death of Emma Teasdale, the elderly friend of Penny who Penny first encountered on that fateful day when Penny was looking for a place to stay for one night. Emma was a long-time school teacher, and she and Penny became great friends during the 25 years or so after Penny arrived in Llanelen.
At the same time as Emma’s funeral is being planned, anticipation runs high in the small town for the imminent wedding of the local rich landowner’s son, Emyr, to a self-made beauty, Meg Wynne. When Meg Wynne goes missing on the day of her wedding, the mystery really begins.
Of course, there are several people who had a reason to wish Meg Wynne dead. And, Penny gets involved in the case because she was apparently the last person to see Meg Wynne before she disappeared. Also, Penny notices something wrong at her friend Emma’s funeral.
The police inspector in charge of the case is in his 50s and is also single – as is Penny. (Hmmm… Does this mean there will be an almost inevitable romance?) Victoria, of course, helps solve the case. More surprisingly, Emma also helps solve the case (I won’t give away the details of how except to mention that the mystery does not contain paranormal elements.)
This book is a great start to the mystery series. I can understand why this book was nominated for the Agatha Award for best best first novel. Penny, Victoria, Chief Inspector Gareth Davies and his Sergeant, Bethan Morgan, are all terrific Cozy Mystery characters. The small town setting is extremely well suited to the Cozy Mystery genre. And the mystery plays out in a very enjoyable way. After reading “The Cold Light of Mourning”, I felt as though I had found new friends to visit when I feel in the mood for a new Cozy!
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Jane says
Hi, I’m having a hard time finding the “Penny Brannigan” books to purchase. Do you have any places to buy from? Thank you!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Jane, I get most of my books these days from Amazon. Other than that, you could try used bookstores or other chain bookstores like Barnes & Noble, but I don’t have any specific suggestions for this author.
Jane says
Thank you, I was hoping they were being reprinted so I could buy new. I’ll get them!
Sharon S says
Jane, I’m getting ready to read The Cold Light of Mourning. I got a copy at my public library.
Nancy says
Just finished reading her newest. It was great, just like all the others. I love this series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Nancy, that’s good to hear – I am very behind with this series (like many others).
Sharon S says
The Cold Light of Mourning sounds very good. I just ordered it.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sharon, I hope you enjoy it!
Marianne Henderson says
I have read the first book in this series and am presently enjoying the second. A perfectly delightful cast of characters.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marianne, I definitely agree!
Carol Z. says
I’m always looking for new cozy series and I’m amazed I hadn’t heard of this author. Thanks for writing about her and thanks for this blog, which I love! I just discovered it after Googling “cozy mysteries.”
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Carol, you’re very welcome!
Bek says
Well, it isn’t exactly my usual style of thing, but based on what you’ve said, I’ll look for it in e-reader form and then decide from there whether to collect the series. Perhaps I shall broaden my horizons a bit!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Bek, I hope you enjoy it!
C. T. Collier says
I love all of Elizabeth J. Duncan’s books, especially the Penny Brannigan series set in Wales. I hope she”ll be at Bouchercon this year, as I’d love to meet her and have her sign Slated for Death, my favorite of the Penny Brannigan books. Hope you enjoy The Cold Light of Mourning!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
C. T., I hope you have a chance to meet her! I wish I had time to make it to Bouchercon or similar gatherings, but lately my travel all seems to be arranged around visiting family.
Bev W says
Just read the eighth in the series and it just keeps getting better and better!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Bev, that’s good to hear – I haven’t gotten that far yet! My to be read pile continues to grow faster than I can read.
MJ says
One noteworthy observation about the Penny Brannigan series is the couple of books where there is interaction with Dorothy Martin and her husband Alan Nesbitt (from the Jeanne Dam’s series). Likewise Penny Brannigan appears in a couple of the Dorothy Martin books.
I was totally surprised when I first saw this, and to say I was ‘confused’ was an understatement. It was explained in the acknowledgements. Needless to say, I now read an author’s acknowledgement before I start the book.
In fact, the book (not a Duncan book) I just finished had some revealing info in the acknowledgements – so it’s worth it to read it first.
If I like an author’s series I usually will try another series they have written, which is how I discovered Duncan’s ‘Shakespeare in the Catskills’ series. It’s my favorite of the two series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, I certainly agree that that sort of crossover would be a real surprise! And reading another series by an author that you like is definitely a plus. It’s especially interesting to see how an author you enjoy might arrange a different series a bit differently when they have a little experience under their belt – in this case, Elizabeth Duncan had a handful of books out before starting her second series, so she likely learned a lot of lessons.
Margaret StashEmpress says
I hadn’t read the acknowledgements, what did they explain? I just loved that Penny & her boyfriend are friends with Dorothy and Alan — of course that’s the kind of friends they’d have — love both series!
Margaret StashEmpress says
What I particularly enjoy about this series is in itself something of a mystery — usually I’m drawn towards series where I can in some way relate to the sleuth — her location, her occupation, her background etc. (50-ish moms/grandmoms, people who sew, people who work in mystery bookstores or other places I aspire to, etc.) — Yet in this series I have pretty much nothing in common with Penny — never been to Canada or Wales, not artistic, never even had a manicure — yet the character seems like a dear friend that I love to catch up with every installment!
That must be the hallmark of an excellent author — the ability to make you feel like “best friends” with a character you’d normally have nothing to do with in real life!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Margaret, I’d certainly agree that helping the reader empathize with a character in the novel, especially one that the reader might not necessarily have a lot in common with, is definitely the mark of a talented author. It’s a real pleasure to read that sort of work.